S90: Bare Metal

Continued with sanding the tank down to bare metal.  Tried out the 3M "Sandblaster" sanding pad and sponge, both 80 grit.  I found myself switching back and forth between the sponge, the pad, and regular sandpaper, simply depending on what kind of surface I was working on.  The sponge and pad were definitely good for some of the tight, curved areas.  But there were also areas where nothing could beat plain old sandpaper.  It was good to have all three to choose from as I went along.

The plan is to paint it flat black, just to see how it looks on the bike.  But the bare steel looks interesting, too.  I may hold off on painting it for awhile...

S90: Tank Strip

Starting to strip down the original tank.  For now just using some 80 grit sandpaper and doing it by hand.  This is more of a practice run, just to see how involved it is, and to get a feel for the contours. 

S90: Handlebars Resto Cont (Almost there!)

Decided to just paint the fork plate black figuring that that would let the knew shiny bits pop out a bit more.  Went with a flat black just to gauge the effect.  Worked rather well, I think.

I first hit the plate with some 80 grit sandpaper, followed by 400 once everything was smoothed over.  Then I did about 5 coats of flat black followed by just one of clear coat.  Would have liked to have done a few more rounds of clear coat but simply ran out of time.

Also went over the handlebar mounts with the steel brush again, but this time using a lower speed than yesterday (about 40% versus 90%).  I think the lower speed actually prevents some of the discoloration and patchiness I was seeing before.  Followed all that with some Autosol polish. 


First, a reminder of where we originally started back in June of 2011...

And as of today...

 

Start to finish on the fork plate.

S90: Dremel Flex-Shaft

The picture says it all... 

This was my first time using the Dremel Flex-Shaft attachment.  Did a light cleaning on the original handlebar mounts with a #442 carbon steel brush.  Pretty happy with the results.  Still getting my technique down; a lot of it is figure out the right angle for the brush.  I'm pretty sure I can get to a more consistent finish with a little more practice.

S90: Handlebar Resto Continued

Second order from Bike Bandit came the other day, so it was another session of fitting new bits and pieces.

Before...

And after...

Unfortunately, the dingy fork plate and handlebar mounts keep the shiny new bolts from really popping out.  I may end up just painting the plate black to really highlight the brightwork.

S90: Handlebar Mounts

Disassembled the handle bar mounts to get a good look at them so I could order replacement bits as needed.

S90: Odd Jobs

Decided to stick on all the odds and ends I got from Bike Bandit.

Rusty fork bolts get replaced with shiny new ones.  Forgot to order new washers along with it, though.

New gas cap gasket.

New rubber mounts for the gas tank.  But the added width pushed back the tank itself, which made it impossible to fit the seat.  Going to have to mull that one over a bit...

New square washers inside the headlamp case.